Columns & Production Tips

Les Henry: Droughts I have known

What comes next?

By Les Henry October 5, 2021

The 2021 crop year for the Prairie provinces will go down in history as hot and dry with a huge impact on crops, hayland and pasture. The lack of feed for livestock is most serious, as it will require forced sale of cattle with long-lasting effects on farms and ranches. Many would lead you to […] Read more

Establishment of a cover crop will reduce evaporation in the spring.

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Soil health and cover crops

Q & A with an expert

By Nathan Trowell October 4, 2021

Q: What are the challenges associated with fall cover crops and are the benefits worth the effort? A: The simple answer is cover crops will improve your soil health. Cover crops reduce soil erosion, improve nutrient cycling and provide a living biosphere for beneficial soil micro-organisms. The challenging followup questions include: Will cover crops work […] Read more

Curled leaves on corn plants due to drought cause it look a bit like the spears of a pineapple crop, resulting in what some call pineapple corn.

Columns, Dairy Cattle, The Dairy Corner

Balance “pineapple” corn silage into dairy diets

Corn with rolled leaves should definitely be tested for nitrates

By Peter Vitti October 1, 2021

I never noticed a “pineapple” cornfield until I ‘ve seen several of them in Manitoba this summer. As I have done, dairy producers should take them in stride as part of our ongoing drought. A pineapple cornfield is simply what happens to a corn plant after months of severe drought. (It is a term used […] Read more

Toban and Jamie Dyck in front of the Souris River, which runs through the town and is a feature the community is proud of and has invested in. There were walkways, a park and tourist-oriented infrastructure built around the relatively wide river.

Columns

Toban Dyck: Adventure found in the most unexpected place

Jamie and I explore the wild side of Souris, Manitoba

By Toban Dyck October 1, 2021

I joked to my dad that I don’t think we’ve ever harvested so many acres in one day. He assured me this was not something to brag about. We didn’t put our combine in road gear, but we’ve never harvested wheat at those speeds before. This column isn’t about that, though. It’s about the community […] Read more

Columns, Hart Attacks

Country Guide becomes an historical record

Nearly 50 years of magazines goes into university archives

By Lee Hart September 30, 2021

If you were one of perhaps hundreds of western Canadian farmers who found their farms featured on the pages of Country Guide magazine between 1974 and about 2003, you are literally in the history books now. Your story and photos — whether it be fact or fiction— are now preserved for all time in the […] Read more

In both wheat and barley, boron deficiency causes the unfertilized cereal grain flowers to open up just like open pollinated rye. The consequences of deficiencies are failure to set seed, as in canola and wheat, and, in barley, the open, exposed cereal flowers can have very high levels of ergot.

Columns, Crops

Bring on the boron

Boron deficiency can cause failure to set seed and ergot infection

By Ieuan Evans September 29, 2021

Over the last few years in the Prairies, there has been something of a resurgence of interest in boron. This micronutrient is critical for normal plant growth, particularly crop maturity, and water balance — and is a key factor in seed set and crop yield. In man and animals, this micronutrient is essential for weight […] Read more

With pastures in some drought affected areas shrivelling up to almost bare ground, feeding cattle is a real challenge.

Beef Cattle, Columns, Livestock

Finding affordable cow feed to support body condition

Chances are that pastures have just run out, so what do you feed cattle heading into winter?

By Peter Vitti September 28, 2021

Quantity and quality of forage at the end of this summer for beef cows is short. So, where burnt pastures can no longer support the average beef cowherd, whatever forage is on hand with the right supplements might be turned into a sufficient autumn feeding program until winter. The goal of any good fall feeding […] Read more

News, Wheat & Chaff

Strategies to prevent falls from grain bins

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association September 23, 2021

It doesn’t take a long fall to cause a serious injury. Serious injuries can occur from a fall from any height. Falls from grain bins happen far too frequently and these falls, at worst, can be fatal. According to Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting data, between 2003 and 2012 there were 13 fatalities from falls from […] Read more

Editor's column, Wheat & Chaff

Editor’s Column: How to optimize your cost of harvest

By Kari Belanger September 23, 2021

Why is grain loss at harvest such a big deal? Even one bushel of excess canola loss per acre could mean a hit of $15,000 per 1,000 acres, says Joel McDonald, who farms near Kyle, Sask. Managing your grain harvest losses is particularly important when commodity prices are high, and given this past challenging growing […] Read more

Gregory and Joseph get a look at the water that is baled out of the test hole. A proper well will need to be drilled.

Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

A drilled well needed to find reliable water

Eppich News: Harvest begins in late July as crops mature early

By Heather Eppich September 17, 2021

The middle of June was busy with summerfallow, fence fixing and breeding mares. We bred a few mares to outside stallions this year with hopes of getting some fillies to keep for our breeding program. June 26 we got the last of the cows off of hay and out to pasture. We had kept 10 […] Read more

Pulse Weekly: Exports down month-to-month

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures surge, hogs up

U.S. grains: Wheat, corn sink to contract lows as large supply weighs

GFM Network News